Message from FCAP
The first Christmas was a season of hope for those who witnessed our Savior’s birth. Out of all the ways God could have sent out His birth announcement, He did it in a way that only the God of the universe could do it. He surrounded a group of shepherds with an angelic choir. God did not announce it to the leaders of the world but to a group of men who were just above lepers in regard to social standing. This was intentional. God has chosen the lowly to reveal the good news of the Gospel. What hope this brings to them and to us!
Last month I was filled with much hope during our annual FCAP Board Meeting. It was also a difficult meeting since it was the first Board Meeting without the physical presence of our dear brother, Captain Joe Ivey. However, hope prevails because we stand on the promise of God that Joe is with Jesus in Heaven. Hope prevails because Joe has left a legacy behind of Christians who are excited to share the Gospel in the airline and aviation workplace. Hope prevails as we listen to stories of new FCAP groups forming and former FCAP groups beginning to meet again.
Your financial donations and prayers are the backbone of this ministry and help make all of this hope possible. We know you have many worthy ministries you could support, so thank you for choosing FCAP. Because of your support, we can see God giving wisdom and strength to airline employees around the world. They can become like the angelic choir during the first Christmas. Others see their hope and it gives them an opportunity to tell them the reason for their hope is Jesus.
The heart is the storage place of what make us who we are; it is also the processor of feelings. There are three things that make a person: intellect, emotion and will. Often times, people confuse emotion for feelings. God says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with allyour strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Is it so shocking then that Scripture asks to put all of our heart also in our work (or job)? Paul told the Colossians, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23). One of the persons that exemplified that was Nehemiah. He did not let his feelings get in the way of serving King Artaxerxes though he was a captive from Judah. “…in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, and I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before” (Nehemiah 2:1). Twenty years of work in a foreign land and never been sad … wow! This is the attitude of the believer. Scriptures tells us to set our heart on enjoying our work. Consider: “Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God” (Ecclesiates 2:24). (MM)
Gratitude is more than an emotion we feel or a response we express with regards to our possessions. Rather, thanksgiving is a deep-seated sense of knowing that God alone gives us all that we need for life, and the ability to enjoy what He provides for us. When we know Him personally in this way, being thankful will be a continual expression through our life rather than just a momentary response on a special day.